Another Place We Want To Return To

Iceland! What an interesting country --- a one-day visit just isn’t enough. The first glimpse came as we neared the port in Reykjavik. Huge, puffy clouds hung low over the island.

                       

As soon as we got off the ship we found the tour guide who’d be showing us around this land of fire (volcanoes) and ice (glaciers). Reykjavik is the northern-most capital city in Europe.

                     

It didn’t take us long to get outside the city and into the lava-covered landscape that covers most of Iceland.

  

We chose a tour that would show us some of Iceland’s natural wonders. Our first stop was the Strokkur Geyser, which erupts about every 5 minutes and is surrounded by steaming hot springs. This area reminded us of Yellowstone.

   

Next, we stopped at a dormant volcano where we could walk right up to the caldera.

                       

Along the way, we noticed boulders that had been spewed during an eruption. Some of the rocks had little houses painted on them. According to Icelandic legend, these are homes for elves. The people here believe that these rocks shouldn’t be moved because the elf family living within would be displaced. The rock in the foreground below is one of these elf homes.

                    

Next we stopped at Gullfoss, the most famous waterfall in Iceland.

   

The last stop of our tour took us into Thingvellir National Park, which is located where the tectonic plates of North America and Europe meet. The two plates are gradually moving apart, as shown by the deep crevice running throughout the park. Eventually (thousands of years from now) Iceland will be split apart, forming 2 separate land masses.

 

One more photo from today. While passing through a souvenir shop, we got a good laugh when we read the label on these Doritos bags.